BITCH steals the show at Hideout

It’s easy to think that festivals and arena shows are the only performances where the crowd is obviously giddy with anticipation to see a performer take the stage. As a Chicago native I’ve become accustomed to a scene where fans that care a lot are extraordinarily mellow. I’m guilty-as-charged. I can be stoic with the best of them, calmly soaking up a band’s performance without hardly moving, but Bitch’s reputation and music seem to excite fans into thinking that they were gearing up for their most beloved main-stage festival acts!

“Are you here to see Bitch?” “Have you seen Bitch before?” “Do you know Bitch’s music?” several people approached me and made conversation without bashfulness, as if to ensure that I didn’t make a mistake, her duo was not performing last, but everyone in that room certainly felt she was the headliner!

Bitch currently performs with Billie Jo (DJ / electronic composer) as a duo called BEACH! A rather recent shift that she explains in a post made on her website this May. The days of Bitch & Animal, Shortbus, and regular solo performances seem over, and I have nothing to complain about. Though BEACH doesn’t seem to exercise their feminism through silly and delightful displays on stage, as Bitch & Animal did, BEACH played a solid set sandwiched between two other bands, You Fucking Oughta Know (opener), and The Shondes (headliner).

I felt that this was a mature new era of music-making and performance for Bitch. But don’t be fooled, she is still an adorable delight on stage that can really throw down on an electric violin, and Billie Jo fills out their compositions with solid beats and synth work whilst wearing an Alligator costume! And after their performance they both seemed very humble and delightfully kind!

So fans of Bitch, if her music isn’t enough to keep you reeled in, you can continue to have unwavering enthusiasm for this new project, knowing that she and Billie Jo are gainfully appreciative of their audience’s support and seem to have no detectable ego about themselves despite the success Bitch has already seen throughout the years!